Volgan War of Liberation

Volgan War of Liberation
Date 22 June 1856 to 9 May 1860 Location Volgorodov Result Volgan victory, expulsion of Reikish colonists in Volgorodov, unity of Volgan tribes
Belligerents
Reikland	Volgorodov
Commanders and leaders
Governor Dean Phillips General James Fleming	Marshal Shudra Irmanik General Tashur Brataav Bukhru Khagan Makhar-Gol Khagan
Units involved
Commonwealth of Reikland Army	Volgan National Army
Strength
45,000 men initially, 100,000 peak field strength, 450,000 total served	107,000 men initially, 358,000 peak field strength, 675,000 total served
Casualties and losses
60,000 military casualties	Over 350,000 civilian and military casualties

The Volgan War of Liberation was a military conflict fought from June 1856 to May 1860 in which Reikland's colonial holdings in Northwestern Gwaii were overthrown by the recently formed nation of Volgorodov.

The Reikish defeat in the Reikish-Norcourtian War of 1846 encouraged many uprisings in the late 1850s and into the 1860s.  Among these were the Volgan Wars of Unification, which had succeeded in uniting most of the Volgan tribes into a new Volgan nation in 1850.  When the Reikish were defeated in Norcourt, the Volgans saw an opportunity to liberate the last of their ancestral lands from foreign rule.

For Reikland, the war was yet another embarrassment.  Too little time had passed between the Norcourtian War and the Volgan War for any reforms to be made.  The Reikish leadership in the Volgan Colonies were aristocratic officers, selected because of personal ties to the Governor, Dean Phillips. The single bright spot was Colonel Alexander Howe, a ranker who recieved a commission for meritorious service in the Norcourtian War.  Colonel Howe would prove to be the only successful Army officer the Reikish had in the war.

The end of the war would see the unification of the last Volgan tribes into Vologdorov and would further humiliate an already deeply injured Reikish state. Subsequent uprisings in other colonies would be met with unprecedented brutality.

The Belligerents

The Commonwealth Colonies of Volgorodov

The Reikish colonies in Volgorodov were relatively sparsely populated, at least by those of Reikish descent. Most of the population were native Volgans, many of whom had gradually acclimated themselves to life in the Colonies. However, the existence of legal distinctions between Reikish citizens and Volgan residents meant that there was always a simmering level of tension, often just barely below boiling point.

If this tension was known to the Reikish Colonial authorities, they paid it no heed. By long tradition, Reikish Army regiments were split, with one battalion at home and the other two detached for foreign service. By the 1840s, fully one-third of the Reikish Army was stationed in Gwai. The Governor-General of the Colonies could call upon 66 Infantry Battalions, 16 Cavalry Squadrons, and 40 Batteries of Artillery, a total establishment of nearly 65,000 men, according to the 1845 rosters. By the time of the Volgan Uprising, however, the Colonial force averaged only 62% of its establishment, with some battalions falling below one-third strength. One, the 2/24th Foot, could barely muster two dozen men in each of its ten companies. This force, commanded by the aging and hopelessly inept General James Fleming, was further diluted in garrisons, often seperated by hundreds of miles of wilderness.